ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, May 21, 1996 TAG: 9605210092
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MATT CHITTUM STAFF WRITER
THE COLLEGE might be a new school come fall, but one thing that apparently won't change is the college's lack of certification by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.
Southern Virginia College's new Mormon owners received a serious blow Monday to their efforts to recruit 400 students to the college by this fall when word came that the school's appeal of its loss of accreditation was denied.
Effective May 10, the Buena Vista college no longer is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, according to James Rogers, executive director for the association. That means no federal aid for would-be students, and the likelihood that many won't be able to attend the $15,000-per-year private school. Credits earned at Southern Virginia will not be transferable to other colleges or applicable to graduate schools either.
The bad news came the same day Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Roanoke, was on campus to tell how he was fighting to help SVC keep its accreditation.
"This was pretty much expected," said Grace Sarber, public relations director for the school. Officials from the college's new administration have said that, accreditation or no, they will go ahead with their plans to make the college a four-year, nonsectarian institution with a strict behavioral code.
The association dropped the college's accreditation in December because of the school's multimillion-dollar debt.
Southern Virginia appealed on the grounds that it did not receive due process, but Sarber said it was almost hopeless from the start. The school filed the appeal mainly to hold onto accreditation through the semester so students already enrolled wouldn't lose any credits, she said.
Goodlatte said Friday in a news release that he "personally encouraged" the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to reconsider the college's accreditation, but his efforts apparently were wasted.
The association's appeals committee met May 8, executive director Rogers said, and could only consider what was known at the time that the accreditation was originally revoked.
Sarber said the college will reapply for accreditation with the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools right away. Rogers said he told the school's administrators he will do what he can to expedite the application process, which generally takes 18 months to two years.
The college also is considering applying to a new national accreditation agency, the American Academy for Liberal Education.
The bad news comes on the heels of the May 13 ceremony in which the college's old board of directors turned over the keys to the new one. It makes for rough going the first few years.
"The college has a real challenge ahead of it," Sarber said.
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